Drill cutter



3 Sheets-Sheet l E ANQRLAN H .BWGO D s INVENTOR5 ATTORNEY.

E. A. MORLAN ET AL DRILL CUTTER Dec. 12,, 1950 Flled Nov 9 1945 Dec; 12, 1950 E. A. MORLAN ETAL 2,533, 58

DRILL CUTTER Filed. Nov. 9, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 E.A.I10RLAN f; 2 HLBWooDs INVENTORS Dec. 12, 1950 E. MORLAN r 2,533,258

DRILL CUTTER Filed NOV. 9, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 EA. MQRLAN LE] 5 H.B. WOODS INVENTORS BY 11k 6.6M

AlIQR NEY.

Patented Dec. 12, 1950 DRILL CUTTER Erwin A. Morlan and Henry B. Woods, Houston,

Tex assignors to Hughes Tool Company, Houston, Tex., a corporation of Delaware Application November 9, l945fserial NOI'627Q657 7 Claims.

1 p The invention relates to drill cutters for use in the drilling of wells for oil, gas, and the like,

" The present invention is in the form of a modification of the general arrangement disclosed andclaimed in the copending application for patent of Henry'B. Woods and FloydL. Scott, Serial No. 597,304,1or Drill cuttersfiled June 2, 1945, and constitutes a different arrangement of th'ecircumferential or fra'ctionaldisc teeth I or cutting elements.

In the drilling of Wells, which sometimesare of great depth-such as, ten or fifteen thousand feet-- bythe rotary method,'there' are used rotary-drills provided with cutters of general conical shape which are rotatably mounted. Such drills are fastened to the lower end of a hollow drillstem which is'rotated by suitable mechanism at the surface. The cutters roll upon the bottom of the hole as the drillstem is'revolve'd, and disintegrate the materials to'be removed. Such roller-cutters are provided withteeth which are forced to penetrate'the well bottom by'weight of the drill stem, the'sam being controllable by the operators. V

The disintegrated materials from the sides and the'bottom of the hole are removedbya fluid which is pumped from th surface through'the hollow drillstem, and are carried to the top and removed. The fluid not only thus serves to remove the cuttings but it also cleans and cools the cutters. v

The 'form of the teeth and the arrangement of th'e same upon the cones areof great importance. It is desirable, asfaras may be, to provideand arrange a cutting structure that will work-well in a plurality of different'formations so as to minimize the necessity of withdrawing the-drill beforeit has exhausted its usefulness, in order to meet 'the'requ'irements of varying formations.

Some of the very-hard formations that must be drilledsuchas quartzite, hard sand dole mitefor dolomite With chert'orfiint'concretions encountered in formations of the Paleozoic erahave high compressive strength; also, in the mainfthey are very'abrasive. To drill such hard abrasive'formations requires the application'of unusually heavy weight upon the 'drillto accomplish a satisfactory rate of penetration as Well as to'securea maximum footageper bit.

As the usual type of pyramidal teeth upon the cutters of the drill stem becomeworn, the area of-contact of thedulled teeth on theformation increases 'to such an extent as to require the application of increasingweight-on the drill that .2 may easily extend beyondthe capacity"of"='-present=day drilling equipment. In" some instances, it hasbeen found thatas much as fifty'thousaiid poundsxweightxmustbe applied to drillwithran 8 diameter bit to secure practical "drilling results. Since there' are obvious limits to the strengthof the parts of the drill, there is, therefore, a need for a cutting structureonthe sribstantiallyponical cutters which will permit fofsa satisfactory rate of drilling witha medium weight such'as' 20,'000#"to -',000#, so thatsaid' cutting structure will continue 'to function well until it has been F practically "worn away in service. "To this end,- it is'desi'rable to provide-a cutting-structure 'not 'easily-broken and one thatrequiresiia minimum of weight .u'pon the-drill as the teeth- 0f the cutters-becomedulle'd 'or shortened inoperation. To accomplish these results; we have'lprovided' in our invention a'strong"cuttingstructure such that as the cutting elements are wornxio'fi' their area of contact on thewell bottom'willnot greatlyincreas'e.

An object-of the invention is to" providei'a tcircular, flat-crested" cutting element for the'coneshaped c'uttersythe crest area of'which will not rapidly increase as the cutting'element'wearsso that'th'e bitwill maintain a desirable r'ate' ofripenetration' throughout the life 'of the cutters without necessity of unduly increasing applied weight.

"Another object of the invention" is to provide an outer row of longitudinal teeth in'c'omb'ination with aplurality of inner, circumferential rows of flat-crested cutting elements, the said outer row or rows to assist in therotationrof the cutters.

-A third'object is to provide a set of generally cone=shaped cutters having strong, segmental, fiat-crested, circumferentially arranged cutting elements'spac'ed longitudinally of one of said cutters, the. sum -of the crest-lengths of the segmentsin anyrow being less than the 'full:circumference --of*-said row, so that lower .initial weight will be required to-make said cutting elements:penetrate theformation for morerapid .e'xcavationof themater-ialto be drilled. I,

.Another object of the invention is to provide-1a set ofgenerally cone-shaped cutters having-segmental, fiat-crested, 'circumferentially extending cutting elements. spaced longitudinally fofQsaid cutters, with "such "elements on adjacent.) ws staggeredlongitudinally, while the cuttingfelements oneach of saidcuttersare staggered Ic'ircumferentially s'ofi'that as the cuttersrotatej tlie weights'willnot only be better distributed ardunjd each cutter as "it rolls ontheWell'bottom,butsaid weight will be more evenly distributed between companion cutters of the set, for better traction and prevention of intermittent overloading.

Another object is to provide a plurality of longitudinal cutter teeth upon a cone cutter with a web joining one end of each tooth with the adjacent tooth on one side and with another web extending from the opposite end of the same tooth to the next adjacent tooth on the opposite side to crush the ends of the rock teeth formed in the bottom of the hole by said longitudinal teeth.

Another object of the invention is to provide circumferential rows of cutting teeth where each row consists of three cutting e'ements.

Another obiect of the invention is to provide a conical cutter for rotary drill bits wherein longitudinally spaced circumferential rows of cutting elements are provided and where each succeeding row has one greater number of cutting elements as the rows progress from the apex of the cone.

Another obeet of the invention is to provide a balanced coni al cutt ng member which will carry more evenlv distributed the load app ied thereto and wherein at least three impacts per revolution will occur with each row of cutting elements.

Still anot er ob ect of the invention is to provide a conical cutter for rotary drill bits wherein the length of the cutting element in each row approximates of the circumference of the row.

A stil further object of the in ention is to provide a plurality of conical c tters for a rotary drill bit having longitudinally extending heel teeth some of which are joined with an interrupted circumferential web and wherein one of the conical cutters has a lesser number of teeth and a l sser number of notches in the circumferential web than is present in the other cutter.

Other and further ob ects of the invention will be readily apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view looking at the bottom of a well drill constructed in accordance with the invention and illustrates the arran ement of the fiat crested lon itudinal rows of circumferen ial cutting elements.

Figs. 2. 3 and 4 are plan vie s looking directly at the three conical cutters of the bit shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are plan views looking directly at the three cutters respectively where the cutting elements have been modifi d somewhat so that each succeeding longitudinal row from the ap x of the cone contains one greater number of cutting elements.

In Fig. l the bit body 2 has the threaded pin member 3 thereon by which it is connected to the drill collar or drill stern for rotation, it being understood that Fig. 1 shows the bit upside down with respect to its position in actual use but it has been so illustrated in order to show the arrangement of the cutting elements with respect to the cones and with respect to each other.

The body 2 has three downwardly projecting legs 4, which are equally spaced circumferential- 1y. Each leg has suitable bearing structures thereon to support the conical cutters I, 8 and 9. These cutters are generally respectively designated as cones No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, with cone I being the No. l cone, cone 8 being the the No. 2 cone, and cone 9 being the No. 3 cone. Each cone is slightly difierent from the other in order to provide for inter-fitting of the cones so as to permit a larger size cone than would be possible if the cutting elements of the respective cones did not interfit.

The No. 1 cone, or the cone designated by the reference character '5, is seen in plan view in Fig. 2 and comprises a conical body H) which has a spear point 12 at its apex. This spear point is provided with the cutting edges 13 and 14 which tend to cut the center portion of the formation upon which the bit is rotated.

Spaced longitudinally along the cone is the first row 15 of the cutting elements. This row is made up of three elements 16 which are identical and symmetrically arranged circumferentially of the cone body I0. Each of these cutting elements is constructed as described in the copending application heretofore mentioned in that they are segments of a circular member which project from the periphery of the cone body Ill and are of substantially uniform thickness, as seen at 20. They have the flat crest 2! which will contact with the formation and as wear occurs there is substantially no increase in the area of metal of the cutting element l6, which comes in contact with the formation.

With this arrangement it is intended that the same amount of weight may be applied to the drill bit to perform the cutting action during the entire life of the cuttin element or until they are worn down to the periphery of the cone ID.

The next row 39 of the cutting element is also made up of three elements 3| which are symmetrically spaced circumferentially and are staggered with respect to the elements IS in the first row. The elements 3! are somewhat longer circumferentially than the elements [6 but of course the path which is traveled by these elements 3| is of greater length than the path traveled by the elements l6 because they are spaced further along the conical cutter, it being the intention that the length of the cutting elements in any row shall equal substantially the same percentage 'of the circular length of the row as occurs in any of the other rows.

The outer row 40 of the circumferential cutting elements is made up of the elements 4|, which are three in number and which are symmetrical circumferentially spaced as have been the cutting elements previously described. The ele-' ments of the row 40 are staggered with respect to the elements in the previous row, it being the intention that the cutting elements of the three rows when taken as a whole shall be so arranged that at least one of the cuttin elements in one of the rows will be in contact with the formation i. being cut or will be on bottom so as to support the load applied to the bit in effecting a cutting action.

An advantage of this arrangement resides in the fact that the teeth are symmetrical and balanced as regards the cone itself so that a smooth running balanced bit results.

The No. 2 cone or cone 8 is seen in Fig. 3 and is quite similar to the cone '1 of Fig. 2 except that the spear point I2 is omitted and the first row 50 of teeth are approximately at the apex of the cone so that the teeth as seen in Fig. 3 are rather small or short circumferentially while the rows 5| and 52 are quite similar to the rows 30 and 40- of the cone 1.

Due to the fact that the first row 50 is close to the apex a fourth row has been provided and the teeth of this row are somewhat longer than the teeth of the row 52. All four of the rows of this cone 8 have the cutting elements thereof staggered circumferentially with respect to each amazes other so that at least one of the cutting elements or teeth will be on bottom at all times.

The cone 9 of Fig. 1 is best. seen in Fig; i and here again there are three rows 65, 66: and 6'! of. cutting elements which are quite similar to the rows 20, 30 and 40 of Fig. 2..

The rows of the cone 1 are longitudinally arranged so that they interfit, as best seen inFig. 1, with the rows 50, 5|, 52 and 60 of cutting elements: of the cone 8 on one sideand the rows 65, 66 and 61 of the cone 9 on the other side. In turn the cutting elements of the cones 8 and 9 interfit with each other, so that the cutting elements of each cone interfit with the cutting elements of the other two cones. Such an arrangement provides for a greater size of cone than would be possible if the cuttin elements did not interfit.

Each of the cone l, 8 and 9 are provided with a row of heel teeth 10, as seen in Fig. 1. These teeth extend longitudinally of the cone and are spaced apart by the recesses or grooves I I. These teeth track on the bottom of the formation being cut and tend to cause the cones to rotate as the bit body 2 is turned in the hole. In order to cut the gage and to avoid the forming of rock teeth in the formation being cut some of the heel teeth 10 have been joined with a circumferential web 12. This web is shown generally as spanning the space between two of the heel teeth or one of the recesses H. The web is shown as projecting at 13 beyond the heel teeth II. This circumferential web I2 is interrupted by a plurality of notches 14 positioned between some of the heel teeth H. been found that an interrupted web of this sort results in the proper cuttin of the gage of the bore and cuts loose the connection with the side wall of any rock teeth which tend to form on the bottom of the Well bore. The rock teeth are then cut by the heel teeth rather than causing the heel teeth to skid over such rock teeth where the rock teeth are not severed from the side wall.

Particular attention is directed to the fact that at least one of the cones has a lesser number of heel teeth H and a lesser number of notches 14 than the other cutters. In this manner the cutter do not track one with the other and the formation of rock teeth and the cutting of the side wall is accomplished. For instance, the cone l, as seen in Fig, 2, has thirteen notches and twenty-five teeth, as does the cone 9 of Fig. 4, whereas the cone 8 of Fig. 3 has but twelve notches and twenty-three teeth. These ratios may be varied as described and, of course, the number of teeth and number of notche on any cone may vary on different cones of the same size or on different sizes of cones.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show three cones which are somewhat similar to the cones of Figs. 2, 3 and 4, respectively. In the cone 1' of Fig. 5, the spear point is the same as previously described in Fig. 2, but the first row of cutting elements 80 consists of a single tooth or cuttin element, which extends somewhat less than one-half of the circumferential length of the row.

The next row 85 is made up of two teeth positioned about on the one third points of the cones, while the outer row 85 is made up of three teeth. In this arrangement each succeeding row, such as 85 and 86, from the apex of the cone contains one greater number of teeth but it is intended that the ratio of circumferental length of the cutting element with respect to the circumference of the row shall be maintained approximately constant In actual operation it has 6'- as to each row. In other words, the ratio or the length of the cutting element, or elements, of each row as compared to the circumferential length of the row shall be the same for each row. This same arrangement prevails for the cones 8 of Fig; 6, with the rows ill 92, 93 and 94, respectively, positioned along the cone. Fig. 7 shows the cone 3' having the rows 96, 9"! and 96 positioned along the cone. The difference in longitudinal positioning of the rows on the cone is substantially the same as the previously described cones so as to accomplish interfitting of the cutting elements. The arrangement of the heel teeth 10, recess H and webs i2 is the same as previously described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a Well drill having a plurality of approximately conical shaped cutters mounted to roll upon the well bottom, a row of heel teeth on each of said cutters, cutting elements arranged in rows circumferentially about the cutters inwardly from the heel teeth, each element comprising a seg: ment extending substantially one-sixth of the way around the cone, the segments in successive rows on a cutter being staggered circumferentially.

2. In a cone type well drill, a rotatable cone, the combination of an outer row of projections disposed to cut longitudinally of the cone, and a plurality of inner rows of flat crested projections disposed c?rcumferentia1ly of the cone, said inner rows each consisting of three interrupted circumferential ridge-like segments.

3. A well drill having rotatable conical cutters, a row of heel teeth on each of said cutters, a pinrality of circumferential cutting elements on each cutter inwardly from said heel teeth, said elements beng arranged in longitudinally spaced ro "s consisting of three equally circumferentially spaced elements in each row so as to create three impacts against the formation by each row of elements upon each revolution of each conical cutter.

4. A conical cutter for rotary drill bits comprising a conical body, a row of heel teeth on said body, a plurality of circumferent'al rows of cutting elements spaced longitudinally along the peripheral surface on said body inwardly from said heel teeth, each row consisting of three circumferentially spaced rib-dike cutting elements.

5. A conical cutter for rotary drill bits comprising a conical body, a row of heel teeth on said body, a plurality of circumferential rows of cutting elements spaced longitudinally along the peripheral surface on said body, each row consisting of three circumferentially spaced rib-like cutting elements where such elements are symmetrically spaced.

6. A conical cutter for rotary drill bits comprising a conical body, a row of heel teeth thereon, a plurality of circumferential rows of cutting elements spaced longitudinally along the per'pheral surface on said body inwardly from said heel teeth, each of said circumferential rows consisting of three circumferentially spaced rib-like cutting elements where such elements are symmetrically spaced with the elements of adjacent rows staggered so that at least one element of one row is always on bottom to utilze the load on the bit to effect cutting of the formation.

7. A conical cutter for drill bits comprising, a conical body, a circumferential row of heel teeth thereon, a plurality of circumferential rows of cutting elements spaced along the peripheral surface of the body, each of said elements comprising an arcuate rib-like member of substantially uniform transverse thickness from its crest to its 7 8 base, the elements 01' said plurality of rows-being UNITED STATES PATENTS staggered and of such arcuate extent that the Number Na ratio of the length of the cutting elements of each 1 840 390 Failingme 3 row as compared to the circumferential len th o 1863034 1932 the row is substantially the same for each row. 5 1:957:532 Flynn May 1934 MORLAN- 2,027,700 Rogatz Jan. 14,1936 ENRY WOODS- 2,038,387 Scott Apr. 21,1936 2,177,332 Reed Oct. 24, 1939 REFERENCES CITED 2,177,333 Reed Oct. 24,1939 The following references are of record in the 10 2,363,202 Scott Nov, 21, 1944 file of this patent: 

